1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to business forms having integrated, removable labels and/or fold-over card intermediates.
2. Introduction
The use of business forms with integrated information-carrying cards and labels has risen greatly in recent years as businesses and consumers realize the inherent convenience and capability of these products. However, in the past, this growth has not been entirely consistent with the trend in business to become more ecologically minded. Many businesses now have turned their attention to making sure that their consumer mailings and other advertisements are recyclable once they have served their purpose. Unfortunately, many of the prior art integrated form products do not allow for standard recycling of the waste produced by such forms.
As used herein, and as commonly understood in the industry, an integrated label is one in which part of the form itself becomes part of the label. Similarly, a form with an integrated card is one in which part of the form itself becomes part of the  card. Such products have proven very beneficial in recent years in part because they allow for relatively convenient end user printing through laser printers, copiers, impact printers and the like.
However, the existing products exhibit numerous limitations overcome by the present invention. For example, the transfer tape, die cut type of integrated label disclosed, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,379,573 to Lomeli involves the application of transfer tape to the backside of a form and die cutting the integrated label from the front surface of the form. These types of labels have the advantages of being a relatively thin lamination and allowing rapid mass production of the forms. Yet in use, it can be seen that the top surface of the label is opaque and has adhesive over its entire back surface. And the remainder of the form cannot be recycled because it contains non-recyclable release materials. Many variations have been made on these types of transfer labels, including the types using a multi-layer label stock as opposed to the basic transfer tape, as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 5,637,369 to Stewart. Nevertheless, this type of integrated label requires the addition of some type of label stock to the back of the form, a die cut through the front of the form to create the label, and some type of release material in the label stock which is left behind on the form when the label is removed.
Another type of label well known in the industry involves the use of a printable patch releasably adhered to the surface of a form and then peeled off in use to be attached to a substrate. These types of labels are not actually integrated labels because no portion of the form becomes part of the label. Thus, the patch material used for these products is a relatively thick (when compared to a transfer tape or similar liner), opaque, and printable stock usually of 50 to 70 pound weight. The labels have the advantage of being relatively thin—although thicker the transfer type  labels described above—but have the significant disadvantages of not having the support of a portion of the more substantial form layer integrated into the label. Also, since the label is really just an opaque piece of paper stock with adhesive on the underside, it does not allow the user to see through any portion of the label to the surface of the underlying form.
Integrated fold-over cards are similar to integrated labels in that they are basically an integrated label with a lamination or patch layer that can be folded in half onto itself to enclose or laminate a card created from a portion of the form layer. The relevant prior art integrated card articles, however, exhibit many of the same problems as the integrated label articles. Namely, they require the use of a release liner which remains on the form layer after removal of the card which prevents recycling of the form. For example, the integrated encapsulated card articles disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,976 to Popat and U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,326 to Garrison use a lamination layer and a lamination patch, respectively. Both teach and require the use of a release agent which remains on the form after removal of the card, thus preventing the recycling of the form. In addition, the articles taught by both patents necessitate the die cutting of the lamination or patch layer—usually a thin polyester or plastic material—which leaves behind some of this material upon removal of the card from the form, again hampering the recycleability of the form. Finally, the requirement for die cutting through the lamination layer of the prior art fold-over cards significantly increases the cost and complexity to manufacture these articles since extremely accurate dies with limited life spans must be used.